


Poisoned Love

by bbgrl_12



Category: Avengers, Loki (Marvel) - Fandom, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-23
Updated: 2020-04-08
Packaged: 2020-10-26 14:47:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 22,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20743946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bbgrl_12/pseuds/bbgrl_12
Summary: i haven't created a loki fan fiction in a while so i figured i would give it another go. i love the first avengers a whole lot and have been rewatching it a lot as of late and kept getting this idea in my head so let's see how this plays out. first chapter is a little choppy with the writing but it will get better.word count: 1416 words





	1. A Rundown

**Author's Note:**

> i haven't created a loki fan fiction in a while so i figured i would give it another go. i love the first avengers a whole lot and have been rewatching it a lot as of late and kept getting this idea in my head so let's see how this plays out. first chapter is a little choppy with the writing but it will get better. 
> 
> word count: 1416 words

The rumble was felt for miles. My fingers halted their movements from tapping away at the illuminated keyboard beneath them to glance at the few agents that had refused to evacuate around me, their faces holding the same curious emotion that mine held. What the fuck was that? The computer screens around us flickered for a split second before falling to the deep black that told us they had shut off. Agent Hill, who had been standing at the front of the room with a questionable look painted across her face, had checked her pager before rushing out of the room. This was bad. My pager buzzed a few short seconds later. Okay, this was really bad. 

BASEMENT LEVEL ASAP

My skin grew cold as I willed myself to stand from the leather chair while reading the page. Despite me being increasingly aware of the nerves coursing through my body, I rushed out of the room and down the stairs leading towards to the rooms taking up the floor beneath me. My fingers anxiously fumbled for my badge as I reached the glass door leading to the lab, eyes flicking back and forth from the device to inside of the room where I saw nothing but smoke with a hazy blue hue and the shadows of multiple people. Finally, after scanning my card, I pushed myself through the doors to find Fury groaning in pain as he slowly made his way towards me. 

"Sir!" I rushed to his side, aiding in him leaning on my shoulder. I was unaware of where he was hurt, and if it was a wound that would need to be seen by a doctor, but he was in enough pain to need help with moving. Director Fury had told me to help him to the elevator that went to the upper levels. ". . .What happened here, sir?" 

"A hostile force, one that you know much about." Curiosity ran through my bones once more. There were many 'hostile forces' that I knew a lot about. I worked for Nick Fury, for gods' sake. It was clear that he was not to be pushed further on the matter until he was in a better state. I tried my best to hide my heavy breathing as I helped carry my boss to the elevator that only he and a select few could use. He scanned his badge quickly, faster than I had when I reached the lower level, and we entered the lift that would bring us to the lobby.

He didn't talk much in the lift, just the occasional groan of pain and shifting to the other foot. I knew better than to continuously ask my boss what had happened to cause him to be wounded and what led him to evacuate the building. The doors opened for us to find a helicopter waiting just outside the entrance, a guard waiting eagerly at the opening to assist me in bringing Fury to safety from whatever was happening in the basement levels. 

As soon as he was situated accordingly in the helicopter, I felt the aircraft shake slightly before lifted off of the ground that seemed to be breaking beneath us. My breath caught in my throat as I caught sight of what was to become of my job. The asphalt parking lot around the building was, in fact, coming apart at the seams before falling in a sinkhole maneuver. Holy shit. 

"Follow that truck!" Fury's outburst had snapped my attention away from the trance I was put in upon seeing my place of work become nothing but a hole in the ground. He had picked up a pistol, sliding open the door of the craft to point the gun at the truck now heading straight for us. My eyes fell upon a tall figure standing on the bed of the truck, a light gold spear with a glowing blue tip held tightly in his hands. I couldn't make out his face but his stare that was illuminated only slightly from the glowing device was enough to send shivers down my spine. 

He had captured my attention enough for me to completely miss the shots that rang out when Director Fury had fired the gun towards the moving vehicle. He had missed every shot. My grip on the seat behind me faltered when I saw the man on the bed of the truck rear the hand holding the spear back before firing a vibrant blue shot at the aircraft, sending us flying towards the ground beneath us as they raced down the dirt road. 

"Jump!" I followed the orders given and threw myself from the open door of the helicopter, bracing myself for the impact of my body hitting the ground, and held in a gasp of pain when my foot twisted upon landing. It wasn't broken, just sprained, but it still hurt like a bitch. With squinting eyes, I watched the aircraft crash into the ground with a tail that was a glowing orange and red from the fire. 

"Director Fury?" Agent Phil Coulson's voice had carried over the walkie that was somehow still attached to the hip of my boss. My mind hadn't focused on what was being said as I fell back to lay on the ground, my hand resting above my chest as it rose and fell with my rising intake of breath and rapid heart rate. Four years I had worked here and this was the most nerve wracking thing that had ever happened.

"Agent, get up." My eyes slowly peeled open to find the face of a very intimidating man staring at me with an expression worse than that of the man that stood on the truck. I held in my groans of pain as I pushed myself off of the ground before brushing off the grassy dirt clinging to my pants. "You will attend the meeting that is going to be held at base. Our ride is here."

The base was located off the coast of the city. It was yet another aircraft but had been disguised as a ship similar to those of a Navy one for the time being. I followed Director Fury from the landing strip into the main room that held numerous computers where the agents who had evacuated when ordered where currently continuing their work. Agent Hill stood in the doorway leading to a bright white hallway that led to yet another glass room that held the numerous head of departments at SHIELD. Fury directed Hill, as well as me, to enter the room ahead of him before closing and locking the door behind him. 

"As all of you know, we have encountered a hostile force, one that is eager to put as at war. He has taken the Teseract as well as Agent Barton and Doctor Erik Selvig. He goes by Loki." The name tore my attention away from the men and women surrounding me. Loki was the stuff of legends that, up until Thor had come to Earth, I thought to be fiction. Previous to the God of Thunders arrival, I had grown an intense knowledge for norse mythology and things alike. It was one of the many reasons that SHIELD had hired me. "We are going to need any help that we can in capturing him, that includes those that are stuck to the desk jobs of SHIELD." 

The meeting was held for only a few short minutes longer, Fury directing those in the room to do what was needed of them before the room was cleared out for those to do their jobs. Agent Hill gave me a kind nod before retreating to the front of the main lobby to overlook those looking into things that could help. 

"Agent, I have a job for you." Despite me clearly heading to the computers to continue my previous work, Director Fury had called my attention. I knew what this was going to be about. We needed one more person to be onboard and with Agent Romanoff going for Doctor Banner and Agent Coulson going for Tony Stark, there was one more hero in question and I had to be the one that was closest to him. My befriending of those around me was going to be my downfall. "I need you to get Steve Rogers on board for this. We need as many people on deck as we can get."

"Yes, sir. I will get on it right away."


	2. finding the mischief

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> word count: 1471

Grunts bounced off the faded peach walls of the one gym that Steve Rogers found a home in on most nights. I slowly opened the glass door, jumping at the sound of a punching bag hitting the wall, before looking over to see Steve standing with his chest heaving. His skin was glistening with sweat under the bright yellow luminescent lights while his eyes fell to stare at the ground as if his thoughts were plaguing his mind once again. It was no secret that Steve had been constantly reminded of how much he had missed whilst he was in the ice and he had informed me of how he found himself reminiscing of his childhood more times than one. 

"Steve. . .?" My words were soft against the tense atmosphere as I gripped the folder containing all the needed information of this mission, watching as his head jerked slightly when he noticed he was no longer alone before picking up another punching bag with ease. "We need to talk." 

I tried to ignore the evident rise and fall of his shoulders as he chuckled out an attitude laced 'really?' My gaze fell to the floor as he went to stand next to the ring beside him. 

"Why is it, Allison, that every time you come to talk to me, it is about a mission? Fury send you?" I sighed, ignoring the lingering hints of a fight dancing around us, as I placed the file on the floor of the ring. His eyes roamed around the papers curiously but did not ask any questions until he was done examining what was in front of him. "What's this? Why do you have files on HYDRA's secret weapon?" 

"Tony got that out of the water while he was looking for you, thought that it could be the key to unlimited sustainable energy." Steve had thrown the sheet of paper down softly into the folder before sliding the contents over to me with a questionable look on his face. "Loki, a foreigner, took it from us. We have to bring you up to speed on a lot of things, but that is only if you are in on helping us get it back."

I watched as Steve ignored my statement. There was no doubt in my mind, nor Fury's, that Steve would be in on this mission but whether he was happy to do it or not, that was another question. Rogers lifted his bags along with an extra punching bag before heading to the door.

"Is there anything you can tell us about the tesseract that we should know now?" The bulky man halted in his footsteps for a split second, glancing at me over his shoulder, before giving a teenage tantrum like chuckle. 

"Yeah, you should have left it in the ocean." That was the last thing he said before leaving me alone in the gym. My shoulders fell in defeat before pulling out my phone to send my boss an update regarding the super soldier whilst leaving the safety of an empty gym.

'We have him, more or less. He didn't outwardly say yes but we both know that Steve will never pass up an opportunity to save the world.'

I gave my driver a kind and welcoming smile as they opened the door for me. My eyes fell shut at the comfort from the leather interior of the company car, orally sighing, whilst the vehicle shook as they took off towards base once more. It wouldn't take more than a few minutes to reach the ship that would be departing from the port within the next hour or so, but I would take any comfort that I could get right now. 

Fifteen short minutes later, I walked down the crowded hallways of the base towards my living quarters below deck. Fury had informed me that my duties for the day were over for now, and that I could retire to my room until I was needed again. At the sight of my freshly made bed, I had audibly groaned before falling onto the soft pillowy mattress. The clock on my bedside table flashed the numbers 4:07 in a bright annoyingly red font, my eyes barely staying open enough to read them. It didn't take long for me to fall asleep after that. 

"Allison, wake up. You are coming with me to the landing strip to meet Rogers and Banner." Agent Natasha Romanoff's voice had slipped into my dream state, pulling me from such a sweet slumber. I found her standing in my doorway with the slightly hint of a smile on her lips from waking me up, and I groaned as I stood. "Sleepy head."

"Come on, Nat. Did Fury send you or did you just want to wake me up at 8 AM after a long night?" She hesitated as we tracked down the nearly empty corridors before giving me a cheeky grin. Of course, she would wake me up just to get on my nerves. "Natasha!" 

"What can I say? You're fun to mess with. You get all angry and your face gets as red as my hair." I watched as one of my only friends on this ship pushed open the doors leading outside, glancing up at the Quinjet that had just touched down on the strip. The sun beat down on my face whilst we slowly made our way towards the aircraft that was now opening it's doors with a loud hiss to show the super soldier standing alongside Agent Coulson. "Agent, they are starting the face trace and need you on the bridge. We'll be in shortly."

Phil gave a brief nod to both Nat and me before hurrying inside to assist in tracking Loki. Steve locked eyes with me for a split second before giving Natasha a proper welcome as they shook hands. 

"Did Coulson ask you to sign his Captain America cards yet? They're vintage and he takes great pride in those things." I spoke to Steve as we slowly walked towards where Bruce Banner stood alongside the edge of the craft that was about to take off, unbeknownst to the two fresh faces on the ship. "Dr. Banner!" 

The gentleman glanced around awkwardly, as if he wasn't sure what he would be doing here exactly, as he gave us a nod. Steve had gently shot his hand out to shake the man in front of him with a friendly grin on his face. 

"Word is you can find the cube. That true?"

"Yeah, I guess. Is that the only word on me here?" I looked at Natasha who had abandoned the conversation to listen in the earpiece at the orders coming over them. They were the same words coming from mine. We were taking off.

"You guys might want to get inside. It's about to get a little hard to breath." Both Rogers and Banner looked at each other questionably before leaning over the edge of the craft slightly to find the water churning around us. I noticed the doctor chuckling before seeing how he noticed us lift out of the ocean. I turned to head inside, not taking notice at the trio who stood around me followed in step, and entered the bridge. "Where are we in finding Loki?"

"We are sweeping ever wirelessly accessible camera on the planet. That includes cellphones, laptops, you name it. It is eyes and ears for us if it had a satellite connection." Nat and I kneeled down at opposite computers, her looking at one that held her closest companion whilst I was more interested in the God of Mischief taking control of anyone he could. I mumbled out a soft 'it's not going to find them in time' that Coulson could here. 

"How many spectrometers are there? Call every lab you know and inform them that they need to put them on the roof, calibrate them for gamma rays too. I will make a tracking algorithm so we could rule out a few places. Is there a place where I could work?" Fury motioned for Natasha to show Banner his laboratory while I continued to comb through the file on Loki. There wasn't much on it that I didn't know, but it was enough for me to brief me on things that I might have forgotten. 

"We got a hit! 79% match in Stuttgart, Germany." I jumped down the steps to get a look at the match that an agent had exclaimed. "He isn't exactly hiding, is he?" 

My eyes danced across the screen and I was found speechless once more, much like I was upon first seeing the man named Loki just the previous night, and it wasn't until Fury spoke that I was drawn from the trance once more.

"Captain, you're up."


	3. running into a god

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i cannot write fight scenes to save my life so until i get better at doing so, we are going to leave this chapter off when cap confronts loki.
> 
> word count: 1450

Silky dark green fabric clung to my skin that was a light pale from the slight chill hanging over Stuttgart. The moon illuminated the tan stone structure looming over the streets behind me as I looked around at the guests attending the party. My fingers gripped the black clutch with navy green stones glistening from the streetlights surrounding me as I slowly made my way up the steps. 

"Keep your eyes open, Agent. You know more about Loki than any of us so it is important that you keep him in your sights at all times." Fury had barked orders over the ear piece once more, my breath picking up slightly at the mission rules being repeated once more. I had informed Nick of my vast knowledge regarding norse mythology, and since then, had been put in charge of confronting the god if needed. My job tonight was just that. I was to keep my eyes on the god of Mischief, and if need be, confront him. If I saw anything out of the ordinary or if he caused 'mischief', I was to alert those on the outside and do my best to take control of the situation. 

It was unlike anything I had ever come to experience inside. White marble had lined the pillars placed accordingly throughout the room while glossy tile had lined the floor. My eyes fell briefly onto the cracked horse table statue that was placed in the middle of the room. A familiar tune of one of Franz Schubert's pieces had bounced off the walls as I slowly moved to stand along the side of the packed room with a sparkling glass of champagne in my hand. I allowed my eyes to drag from top to bottom, trying to find the vaguely familiar face of Loki Laufeyson, before taking a slight sip from my glass. Found him.

A figure that would seemingly slip past the eyes of anyone else in this building was spotted at the upper level, his fingers gripping the familiar scepter that I had seen take down an entire helicopter in one blast. I raised my glass slightly to block the movement of my lips as I alerted the team over the ear piece. 

"Good job, Agent. Captain Rogers is on standby in a building nearby. Just give the signal and he will move in." I lowered my drink, glancing back up where the man of the hour was previously spotted, only to have my blood run cold and the color drain from my face as I was met with his eyes locked on my features. Loki had a sickeningly knowing smile on his lips as he left his position of overlooking the crowd. Fucking hell. He couldn't know that I was here for him, right? I mean, he is a god of mischief but certainly, he can't read minds. "Agent, do you copy?"

Fury's voice ripped over the piece, asking for some sort of confirmation that I received the orders he had been informing me of every couple of minutes, and I remembered how to breath again. 

"Yeah, yes. Yes, sir. Orders have been received." My slightly shaky fingers lowered my glass onto the table next to me, eyes returning to subtly exploring the room in search of Loki once more before finding him walking with grace down the steps into the main lobby. He walked right past the man who was hosting the get together and started making his way to one of the many people walking around handing out drinks. Nothing out of the ordinary yet. 

I watched as his thin and nimble fingers wrapped around a glass that was similar to mine to take a rather large sip before turning back to look at the man standing at the foot of the stares who held a kind smile across his face. Loki's face turned quick from someone who was there just to enjoy the party to one who had been there for one reason and one reason alone, to make someone bleed. 

"Steve, come on!" My words carried over the earpiece as I saw Loki quickly grab the man by the collar and drag him towards the cracked horse table in the center of the room, a disgustingly wicked smile across his face. Screams echoed throughout the room as the god ripped out a device from his back pocket that whirred loudly. I saw the look of pure terror on the innocent man's face as I attempted to push my way through the crowd that was now rushing towards the door. Someone's arm tightened around my wrist as they ran towards the door. "Let go!" 

My arm was ripped from their grasp but not before I took notice on how Loki was already in the process of taking the man's eye out. Fuck. The god caught sight of me reaching for my holstered weapon in the mix of the commotion happening around me and took heed in knocking me backwards with a wave of his hand. Damn witch. 

"Meet me outside, Allison. There is nothing you can do from the inside and you are not going to find this guy alone." Steve's voice had traveled over the piece in my ear, stern and straight to the point of him thinking that I can't defend myself. I leaned on my elbows as I caught sight of Loki continuing to take the man's sight between the people still running outside. "Allison, come on." 

Steve knew me too well. He knew that I was not going to go outside without a fight but when the body of the host fell limp against the horse statue and the god started moving to where I still lay on the floor, I figured now was a good time to listen. I tried my best to make my way towards the door where, hopefully, Rogers was standing on the other side but the god got to me before I was able to make a break for it. I should have left when everyone else did. Stupid Allison. 

Thin fingers cold to the touch wrapped around my throat, warm breath hitting behind my ear as Loki began pushing me to where the other attendees had been corralled into a circle. There was no use in struggling as I had an idea of what the man gripping my throat was capable of. 

"You have been watching me all night, mortal. It's hard not to feel the burning of your incessant little eyes on me. What makes you think that you are worthy of even glancing in my direction?" His voice was like velvet despite the disgusting arrogance dripping from every vowel slipping past his lips. My fight or flight instinct had become non-existent despite my years of combative training and I was left to be thrown to the ground at the gods feet. I looked up at his towering figure, watching as his pale face glared at me with nothing short of hatred over the fact that I was a mere mortal who had snuck continuous glances at him, before seeing Steve lingering around the edge of the building. "All of you pests think that you are something of royalty but you will never be anything more than the termites that are tearing a castle down."

Loki turned his attention to the shaking figures behind me who watched in terror as multiple figures that were identical to the man who had just left bruises on my throat formed a barricade. He sported an arrogant smirk before banging the scepter on the ground, a bright blue light shooting from each of the identical ones hanging in the hands of the other clones.

"Kneel!" His voice echoed through the streets of Stuttgart as he watched everyone follow his orders whilst shrieking in fear. I slowly followed suit when his eyes shot back to my body who was still resting on the ground. "Is not this simpler? Is this not your natural state? It is the unspoken truth of humanity that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power, for identity. You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel."

My eyes dropped to the side of the man who was now slowly moving towards the middle of the kneeling group of people, his arms stretched out in a desperate attempt to hold power over us, and found Steve standing from his stance. He cracked his neck as well as his knuckles before turning Loki's attention to him.

"The last time that I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everybody else like this, we ended up disagreeing."


	4. confronting the mischief

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> word count: 1,793

"What the fuck were you thinking, Agent? You should have left when you were told and then you wouldn't be in this position." Natasha's voice was sharp and quick to the point. Loki's fingers had gripped my throat tight enough to where a dark shade of purple had coated the skin on my neck in the shape of his long and nimble fingers. I was in the infirmary, per request of my boss and the fired up red head standing next to me, with the doctors checking for any injuries. 

"I was thinking that I was doing my job. I know the stories of Loki, better than any of you guys." Her lips had parted in disbelief as if I had not just brought that up. I knew what she was going to say before she even said it. If I know so much about the God of Mischief, then I should know better than to go in and try to go after him alone. Before Natasha could get a syllable out, the one and only Tony Stark paraded into the room with a smug look on his face. 

"Got a new play thing that wanted to come talk to you, Allison." The dark haired man had marched over to take a seat on a rolling chair that was positioned next to the bed. At the sight of Tony, the doctor had given me the okay and informed me that I had was clear to leave. There was nothing wrong with me, just some bruising that would fade in the coming days. I gave a kind smile before turning to see a man standing in the doorway. His hair was a shoulder length surfer styled blonde and his skin was a sun kissed tan. I knew who it was before even glancing at his armor. Thor Odinson, God of Thunder, and brother of the adopted Loki Laufeyson. 

"Son of Alli, I have come to apologize on behalf of Loki. He is not right, as I am sure you have noticed." A degrading chuckle had slipped through my lips without my knowledge as I took the time to stand from my spot. Thor had raised his eyebrows in confusion, most likely over my response to his statement regarding Loki, before following me outside. 

"That is the understatement of the year, Pointbreak." Laughter could be heard coming from the infirmary that we had just been in and I peaked back in to see Tony doubled over in laughter with his face as red as a tomato. Between breaths, I managed to hear him push out the word Pointbreak and I smirked before continuing my walk towards my room. "Look, Thor, I don't know if they told you, but around here? Mythology and Legends and Gods such as you and your 'adopted' brother? That's my specialty. You don't need to explain your family issues to me. Now, if you don't mind, I am going to take a very long nap."

"My apologies, but Director Fury had informed me that you were supposed to go see him on the Bridge after I apologized for Loki's behavior." My shoulders dropped at the mention of returning to see my boss. I had just had my throat shrunk by the cold fingers of a Norse God and he is wanting to most likely send me out on another assignment. Squeezing my fingers into a tight fist, I gave an affirmative nod before turning and walking in the direction opposite of my bedroom with Thor left standing in the hall. 

True to his word, Director Fury stood with his back to the workers on the floor as he overlooked the blinding white pillowy clouds that we passed over. I dragged my tired body over to him and made some attempt to hold my shoulders high with respect despite them threatening to fall with every waking moment.

"Sir." My voice nearly gave away my exhaustion and if it wasn't for my eyes growing wide when my boss turned around, it would have been a clear give away.

"Agent, I have a job for you." Of course you do. "Loki. He is being held in a cell below deck and, since you know more about him than anyone on this ship other than Thor, your job is to try and get information out of him. He refuses to give any information to Thor, so you are the next person in line." 

Of course he wouldn't talk to Thor. If I had a brother like him, I wouldn't talk to Thor either. The man exudes cockiness which I am not a fan of. I gave a quick and curt nod to my boss who had then informed me that he would be showing me where exactly the God is being held. Swallowing any fear I had left in my body, I followed Fury out of the bridge and into the stairway that took us way below deck. Guards lined the nearly empty hallways, their faces emotionless as they gave a brief nod to Fury, and when we arrived to the door that was no doubt the entrance to the man of the hour, I felt my fingers grow stiff. This would be the first time that I would truly encounter the God, and I suddenly forgot how to breathe.

"Agent?" Fury's degrading tone had reminded me of why I was down here as well as my job. I could not afford to be scared, or have fear running through my bones. I had training for these kind of situations. No fear. Straightening my posture, I looked at Fury who had given the guards the okay to open the doors. Now or never.

Raven black hair and icy cold pale skin. That was the first thing I noticed. The next thing I noticed was how he was dressed in the attire that he had been upon my first glance of him back at the base before it, more or less, exploded. His ocean blue eyes had flitted between Fury and me before finally resting on the dark shaded outline of his fingers around my neck. A sickening smile had spread across his face and my mind had ignored everything around me. Fury had Loki what would happen if he had gone out of line or attempted to escape and had even gone as far as showing him what the red button would do.

"How desperate are you? You call on such lost creatures to defend you?" The way his eyes had flicked from the camera in the top corner of the cell to me while I stood to the side of the room didn't slip my mind. My fingers ticked anxiously at my side, slowly wishing that Fury would get on with is and allow me to leave for the night. I knew that wasn't going to happen though, especially not when my boss moved forward protectively at Loki's comment.

"You threaten my world with war, you steal a once you can't hope to control, you about peace yet you kill because it is fun. You have made me very desperate, and you might not be glad that you did." I took notice how the man in the cage did nothing more than give a silent chuckle. This wasn't affecting him at all. Loki was a God, one of mischief and lies at that, so a man like Fury threatening him was nothing. It was like a child going after an adult. It was meaningless words. 

"It burns you to have come so close, to have the Tesseract, to have power - unlimited power. And for what? A . . . a warm light for all mankind to share?" Loki had turned his attention away from Fury who had stood rather close to the cage, his light blue eyes flickering with mischief. "And then to be reminded of what real power is."

The way Fury's lips twitched into the form of a smile that showed the God in the cage that he was no less than pissed off had took my attention away from Loki. My boss had walked towards me as I stood in front of the exit before whispering in my ear that my assignment starts now. Of course it would. He gets Loki worked up and leaves me to death with the mess of a God who looks like he lives in 2000's emo culture. All he is missing is the black nail polish. After Fury left, Loki stood in silence with disgust laced within his blue eyes and his lips curled into a smug look.

"Don't give me that look." My words came out in a harsh and vindictive tone. I would not allow this man to get under my skin once more, and with him looking at me like that, my plan would not last. I had moved from my standing position to sit in one of the roller chairs positioned at the only computer in this room. This particular console controls everything in this room, including the temperature inside the cage. Part of me had been tempted to turn the cage to below freezing but had remembered that he was a frost giant.

"Oh, look how feisty the parasite is once it no longer has to fear for it's safety. I know why you are here so you might as well leave. I sent the Tesseract off I know not where." I gave a chuckle at the God's reply to my previous statement. Play to his game. 

"I am not here for that, honest. I have heard legends about your kind since I was a child and was curious to know what it is like to be in the presence of a God, even one as low as you." That got to him, not as much as I would hope it did but it did get to him. A flare of anger bloomed behind his baby blues before disappearing as fast at it had appeared when Loki angrily turned to walk around in circles around the walls of the cell.

"Agent, you are not in there to insult him. Do your job or I will have to release you." Fury's words had shot over the earpiece, and I had to hide in a groan. This meant I had to encourage Loki's tactics of making him feel like everyone should kiss his feet.

"I apologize. That is no way to talk to the rightful king of Asgard." I watched as my words caused a halt in the God's steps, his head turning slightly to gaze at me from the corner of his eyes, and the smallest hint of a smile similar to a snakes had slithered across his face. Perfect.


	5. cooperation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> words: 1,783

Somber acoustic guitar had echoed around my living quarters, my eyes peeling open from the dried sleep, and my fingers shot over to shut off the incessant alarm. Silence had overtaken the room once more which brought along the temptation to fall back asleep but the footsteps bouncing around the hall outside had reminded me of my assignment. I breathed out a heavy sigh before pushing myself off of the mattress to get dressed. Nat had met me outside of my bedroom after I had done my morning routine, a coffee in each hand. 

"Figured you could use liquid courage to go back down there today." I gave an appreciative smile before downing a huge gulp of the hot beverage. Loki had been my assignment for just a short three days but talking with a man as full of himself as him got annoying fast. "That bad?"

"The dude is trying to take over the world. Yes, it is that bad. Not to mention, I have to play to his tactics to get him to trust me." Without thinking, I had been thrown into a rant of everything that had been pinching my nerves over the last seventy-two hours. Natasha had looked at me with amusement lacing her eyes and her lips pursed together in her attempts to not smirk at how hard my assignment is. "Fury is wanting me to get shit out of him, but I can't do that! This is the literal God of Mischief and Lies. He isn't going to tell his entire diabolical plan to someone like me."

"Son of Alli." Thor's gruff voice had cut off my rant as well as caused me to nearly jump out of my skin. I turned to face the thunder god with an angry puff and a fire raging in my eyes.

"My name is Allison! My father's name was Jason, not Alli." The walking gym took a protective step back before briefly apologizing. Nat had glanced between the two of us before slowly retrieving the coffee from my hands, claiming that she didn't think I would need this anymore.

"If you are to get information out of my brother, you need not play to his tactics like Fury had stated. Loki may be unwell but he is smart and will catch on quickly." I rolled my eyes before turning and continuing my walk towards the stairwell that will take me down to the bottom level. Thor followed. "Be yourself. Loki does not trust easy but if you attempt to relate to him, he might open up slowly. But, take heed, miss. Loki can and will act as though he has no soul and will say things without a second thought. Be careful." 

Ignoring his attempts to assist me in my assignment, I gripped the handle to the door that would lead to the main corridor below deck. It was empty once more with the exception of the guards that I had become familiar with standing against the walls. Each had given me a pitiful look before watching me slowly make my way towards the threatening door at the end of the hall. Two guards had stood on either side of the entrance and, upon me reaching the destination, had slid their keycards to allow me access. 

Inside, Loki had been pacing the clear walls in search of some form of entertainment when my light and airy footsteps had yet to make myself known. The creaking of the chair when I sat down had given my presence away. He had turned to me with the same disgusting grin before slowly moving to the glass in front of me.

"There's not many people who can sneak up on me." I gave a chuckle that dripped with sarcasm as my arms were crossed in front of my chest. Loki had squatted down to meet my eye-line with his bright baby blue eyes locked on mine. This action would have caused a chill to run down my spine with the thought of what he could do to me hanging in my mind but this morning, I had been filled with too much annoyance to give him that satisfaction.

"Consider me flattered." The pale God had drug his eyes down my frame before standing to sit across the cell on a light blue bench. This had been our daily routine. I would arrive to sit down in the chair that will eventually cause sores from the uncomfortableness and he would sit on the bench that had been added upon learning that there would be someone smaller than Hulk in here. It had been what felt like twenty minutes with silence hanging in the air. Loki had not attempted to talk, why would he, and I had not uttered a syllable since I arrived. Thor's attempt to help had continued to house itself in my mind. Relate to him. "You know, I have read about you."

"Yes, if I remember correctly, you say that you wanted to know what it would be like to be around a God. Even one such as myself." His words had dripped with irritation, and at the sound of that, I had been tempted to stop my own attempts on reasoning with the man. Loki had stood once more to pace the room with his arms crossed behind his frame.

"Yes, I did say that. But I am being honest when I said that I had read about you. There are a lot of stories about you and your kind online, and I would be lying if I had said they didn't interest me." His footsteps had continued to echo around the room as my words did nothing to him. Okay, try again. There had to be something that I had read about him that I could relate with. I was the youngest out of three siblings, he was the youngest out of two. I had a mother that was rarely around, he had a mother that he loved dearly. I had a father who acted like I was trash he found in the bottom of a dumpster left to rot, he had a father who treated him horrible. There it is. "I read about Odin, and your relationship with him."

It is a good thing that glass wall is there. I fear as though my life would have been over if it hadn't been at the mention of Odin. Loki's eyes had the fire of Muspleheim raging behind them and I caught sight of his fingers clenching at his side. 

"Don't worry. I am not going to try to tell you that he is a good guy. From everything that I have read, he sounds like a fucking asshole. He sounds a lot like my father actually." The fire in his eyes still raged but not as strong as before. His fingers were still balled into fists but I could tell the last part of the sentence had reached something small within him. My fingers reached up behind my ear to turn off my mic, playing it off like I was scratching my head. "My dad was an asshole. My siblings were heaven, sorry, Valhalla walking the earth while I was Hel. He was never proud of anything I did. I made straight A's, kept a clean room, never got into any trouble. But it wasn't enough. I lived to make him proud and I failed at it. He wanted me to follow in the footsteps of my siblings and become a doctor or a lawyer but nope. I went to work for one of the biggest companies in America, a company that protects them, and that still wasn't good enough for him."

I wasn't looking at him anymore. My vision had dropped to watch my fingers pick at each other in my lap as I gave a simplified version of my relationship with my dad. My skin was cold and clammy, as it was whenever anyone learned about anything in my life, before I wiped away any threats of emotion to look back up. Loki had been sitting instead of pacing like he was when I first started talking. His expression was no longer that of anger and hatred. It was unreadable.

"I don't completely understand what you went through. There is only so much truth wrapped around books and articles online. What I am saying though, is that I get it." Shouldn't have said that. Should not have said that. Loki's hatred had returned and his lips had curled in pure disgust when I had said that I get it.

"Do not think for one second that you understand the torment that I have encountered throughout my life, you mewling quim. I am a God and you are nothing more than a piece of flesh pretending to fight for a cause bigger than your own." He had stood from his spot and began to walk towards me with every other word. "You lie and kill in the service of liars and killers yet you go after liars and killers. Do not think that you are protecting this world and do not think that I am going to show pity upon you for having a father who treated you better than you deserved."

His words had broken something inside me and while I wanted to unleash every bit of anger that had been burrowing within my veins, I had done nothing more than say three simple words that would suffice for now.

"You're a monster." That wouldn't reach him. It was obvious that calling a God such as Loki a monster would be nothing more than a child calling you a meanie when you wouldn't let them play with a toy. The man scoffed before looking at me in the eyes once more.

"Oh, no. You brought the monster." Bruce. That's it. Without realizing it, I had broken a piece of the puzzle and brought out one of Loki's plays. I gave Loki a once over before standing from my spot. This was it for the day. I wouldn't see him again until tomorrow morning and I held some satisfaction in my headway today. Hiding an accomplished smile, I turned on my heels and made my way out of the room. I had turned my mic back on once it was safe to inform Fury of what I had been informed.

"Agent, would you care to inform me why your mic has been off for the last twenty minutes?" His tone had been degrading once more, and I had begun to wonder if Fury knows any other tone. I shook my head before remembering that he couldn't see me.

"That doesn't matter. Loki wants to let the Hulk out. That's his play. Let Banner know immediately."


	6. the blast

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> word count: 1,781

Informing Bruce Banner of Loki's plan had gone better than I had expected. Despite an argument rising out of the statement that SHIELD was looking to make weapons of mass destruction once the tesseract has been acquired, he had taken the news surprisingly well. After the exchange of very heated words between all of the Avengers had cooled down, I took it upon myself to excuse myself to get some more coffee. Thor had also taken it upon himself to follow me and had wasted no time in asking me how my interactions with his brother had gone before I had found out his motive.

"I took your advice and found something to relate to him with. Who knew that I had something in common with a trickster god? I do have one question though." Thor had looked at me expectantly after I had paused for a moment to pour my coffee. "What is a mewling quim?"

The man's face had turned a vibrant shade of crimson red at my question. He was silent as his words began to fumble over his tongue as he tried to find the right words to answer me. It was funny watching someone who comes off as confident as Thor trip over words and be speechless. I was almost tempted to laugh until Tony Stark walked in and caught sight of the God.

"What's the matter, Pointbreak? Cat got your tongue?" I grinned at Tony as he took over the use of the nickname I had given to Thor upon first meeting him. He gave me a cheeky grin before sauntering off into the kitchen that was off the main hallway. Thor had regained his posture only slightly, just enough to inform me of what the answer to my question was.

"Pardon my language, Allison, but a mewling quim is what Midgard would call a whiny cunt." The accusation caused my breath to catch in my throat. I had been called worse, sure. This was earth for crying out loud. But the fact that Loki had the audacity to call me a whiny little pussy because I was trying to relate to him over our shared shitty fathers was too far. Anger had gotten the better of me and despite making a fresh cup of coffee in the styrofoam to go cups, my fingers gripped the container hard enough to where the liquid seeped out of open cracks. Thor tried to call after me as I turned on my heels and began to storm towards the staircase leading to Loki.

The guards had given me an odd look and I could tell that they were curious as to why I was down there a second time today. Why would I want to see Loki any more than I needed to? I was beyond the precipice of anger though, and needed to voice my outrage towards Loki even though he would not care. 

"Oh, to what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you more than once today, mortal?" The God had been laying on the bench across the cage with his hands resting softly on his chest that rose and fell with every breath. His head had turned to the side, his bright blue eyes holding no emotion as he caught sight of me pushing my way into the room.

"You fucking asshole!" My outburst had caught him off guard just enough to where his raven black eyebrows furrowed in confusion. His lips were curled with a knowing smirk though. "You fucking full on shit eating bitch face. How dare you call me a whining pussy when I was fucking opening up to you?"

"Should I have sat down and shown pity on you? Is that what you were in search of?" He had come to the full realization of what I was there for and had stood from his position of laying on the bench. His long legs carried him to the glass closest to me, and the window wasn't there, our noses would be almost touching. When I realized that he was as close as he was, I jumped back slightly. "Were you just aching for me to show you mercy over the acts of hatred that your father had sent upon you? Show you that you are worth more than anything you had ever been told?"

"I was trying to help you feel better, you psycho! I know how it feels to have a father like Odin, okay? Maybe not one who is literally a fucking God but I know what it is like to have a father that doesn't want you!" Loki gave a begrudging laugh, his eyes turned to slits with anger, as his hands rested against the cool glass between us. I don't know whether or not I was trying to help him or if I wanted to vent about my father. Nobody knew about how I was treated, and now the only one who does is a God who could care less. Maybe that was a good thing. 

"Oh, you think that I am here on behalf of Odin? That I am here on some tantrum similar to that of a child? Oh no, dear, it is much worse than that. There is a far greater need at play here, and there is only so much I can do on my own." My eyes flit between each one of Loki's, watching the emotion swirl behind his baby blue eyes, and his words had registered with me. He wasn't in control here. At least, not fully. There was something much stronger than him that was controlling everything going on with Loki and the Tesseract and all of the people he had turned. "Leave me. I do not wish to be in the presence of someone who wishes to be pitied."

I stood in my spot for a short few seconds later out of spite. Loki had turned away from his position of facing me to lay back on the bench with his eyes pointed towards the ceiling. It was only then did I turn away to leave and rerun his words over in my head. I knew that there were numerous forces in the realms that could take control of an entire planet with just a snap of their fingers, but was there one that was strong enough to overtake Loki? While he may not be the strongest God out there, he was cunning and full of charm. That alone was enough to cause anyone to not kill someone. His words had continued to hang in the air surrounding me as I made my way up the stairs and into the bridge where the five most important people on this aircraft had stood near the conference room. Upon my sudden arrival, their attention had turned towards me who had been a heaving mess on the sidelines. 

"Loki's not in charge." Their eyebrows mimicked each other as they furrowed in confusion. I moved closer to sit in one of the chairs near them as I caught my breath from running up the stairs. The group now surrounding me had followed suit. "I don't know who it is, but he said, and I quote, 'there is a far greater need at play here and there is only so much I can do on my own.' That tells me that he isn't in charge. He is just a middle man." 

My eyes had shot from each face, taking in their expressions as I informed them that the person locked up below our feet was not behind all of the damage that has already been done. While their faces were different, it was clear they were all taking it the same way as me. They were wondering who was strong enough to make Loki Laufeyson do their dirty work?

"Do you have any idea of who it could be?" The question had been directed towards Thor and me but I had shrugged. I had no clue. Before the God of Thunder had been thrown to Earth last year, I thought that they were just things of legend. I didn't know that Thor and Odin and Gods alike were an actual thing. Thor's silence had given the same answer. There was nobody in the known universe and realms that we knew of that were that powerful.

"I will go talk to my brother, see if I can get any more information." Thor had stood from his seat with a screech from the metal. I had glanced to Natasha with furrowed eyebrows. We all knew that Loki wasn't going to tell Thor anything worth mentioning yet he was still going to try to get something out. One would think that Thor would be behind this attack as well but the rest of the crew knew that Thor was here for the greater good, unlike his brother. "I will return. Thank you, Allison, for all of your hard work. It does not go unnoticed."

After he had left, we abandoned our seats to go do our jobs. Tony and Bruce had retreated back to the lab. Captain had most likely gone in search of a punching bag. Natasha had gone to look more into the status of her closest friend, Clint Barton, while I was left to my own devices. My work had been over for the day, and unless I wanted to go see the raven haired frost giant again, I was free for the most part. Part of me had been tempted to visit him for a third time today though. Despite every spout of hatred that fell from his mouth whenever I sat in the same room as him, it was almost enjoyable to be able to voice my childhood trauma to someone who had even a sliver of relation to it. I had figured that would not be the best thing to do though, considering how our last visit had ended, and instead had retreated to a room that overlooked the landing strip. 

Sure, that wasn't much of a view but seeing the milky white clouds surrounding us had sort of a calming feeling wash over me. My eyes would drift over the numerous Quinjets on the strip and watch as the pilots made sure they were in decent shape should anything happen to the way the clouds parted slightly for the jet approaching. Part of me had been curious as to why we had one arriving when we weren't in need of anything but I had brushed it off, not wanting to worry about something that was most likely handled by Fury. I had never been more wrong in my life.


	7. talking with mischief

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> word count: 2036
> 
> this story is not going to end with the ending of the avengers. it is going to continue for as long as I want it to go on and whether or not I follow certain things that happen in the MCU (like when Loki dies, how many times he dies, etc.) will be decided at a later date

"Let me fucking help, Stark!" Tony stood in front of me, face as red as the suit that had been thrown on in a hurry, with his finger pointing towards my face. After I had witnessed the blast from a passing stolen Quinjet, I had quickly run towards the bridge in search of anything I could do to assist those in need yet Tony took it upon himself to order me to go to his tower in the city. He informed me that Loki had escaped with the scepter and claimed that the God would be heading for his tower, and that I should be the one to meet him. "I work at SHIELD, and I can fight!"

"Dammit! That is enough, Allison! You are going to get in that suit and go to the tower and you will stay there! This is not up for discussion!" I loved Tony. I did. He was like a father to me, and he knew it which is why he was allowed to talk to me like this. I screamed in frustration before walking towards the extra suit that he had brought with him in case of emergencies. With Tony, it never hurt to have a back up plan. "Stay safe, don't touch anything and don't let reindeer games get to you." 

"Yeah, yeah." The suit closed in around me and within seconds I had left the aircraft. Watching the aircraft before me lean heavily to one side as it flirted with the idea of falling straight down into the city was something that was hard to tear my eyes away from. If JARVIS hadn't have come across the suit, quickly informing me that I needed to move, I would have spent hours staring at the sight before me. "Right. Sorry, J. Tony never lets me use this thing so you're gonna have to help me get there, okay?" 

"Of course, ma'am." Within seconds, JARVIS had put the thrusters on full blast and had shot me in the direction of the tower. It would only be a few short lived minutes till I arrived at the tower but that was more than enough time for Loki to get there before me. Once again, the thought of standing before the God in an uncontrolled environment had sent my stomach into a whirlwind of emotions, fear being the main one. The last time that I had stood before him, his icy fingers had caused dark purple bruises to wrap around my throat. This encounter wouldn't go much better, that I was sure of. 

My skin grew clammy as I slowly landed on the strip that stuck out of the penthouse level of Stark Tower. He was here. The raven black hair mixed with the forest green suit had been a dead giveaway. By the expression laced on his face as he caught sight of the suit landing, he had been under the impression that it was Tony in the suit. Time to break his heart. JARVIS instructed me to land in a specific spot, and after doing so, the suit began to come apart and everything was back in Tony's garage except one of the blasters on my arm. Loki's face dropped slightly when he realized that it was me in the metal. 

"What? Expecting someone else?" He answered my sarcasm with a grunt before turning slightly to overlook the city. Part of me was surprised that he had not lunged at me with the anger of a thousand suns, the other part of me was relieved that I had lived another minute without more bruises. My eyes watched his form as I made my way to the bar to help myself to Tony's stash. "Want a drink? You look like you could use it." 

His shoulders rose and fell in a degrading chuckle before turning his attention away from the city that was getting ready to meet whatever he had planned. His piercing blue eyes had locked on mine as I poured a glass of his strongest whiskey. Main part of this was to not make him angry. Echoing screeches had ripped through the sky as he slowly made his way towards me, causing my attention to turn towards the creatures zipping through the sky through a portal. 

"If you are trying to distract me, I would strongly advise against it, mortal." I shook my head as I took a drink from the caramel colored liquid lining my glass.

"Nope, no distracting here. My boss and coworkers thought that I wasn't strong enough to help out so I was thrown here to wait everything out." His eyebrows furrowed slightly as I hopped onto the counter, watching his every movement with the city of New York falling behind him. It was a terrifying sight, yes, but I had worked at SHIELD for years. We had to become numb to the sight. The two of us watched as the familiar figure of a blonde haired Thor flew past with his fingers wrapped around Mjolnir to fight off Loki's army. I caught sight of the black haired brother's lips curl in disgust at the sight of his 'family'. "You know, Thor is an absolute handful. I couldn't even imagine having him around growing up."

Thor is not his brother. I have to keep that in mind. If I bring up Thor being his brother, he gets angry and that is something that I do not want. Loki had turned back to me with his expression changed to curiosity. There we go.

"I mean, having someone with that much ego around all the time and not to mention his father feeding it every second of every day? I would go mad." If I wasn't looking, I would have missed the corners of his lips twitch into what could pass as a genuine smile before disappearing after a split second. If he wasn't a criminal, I wold have said it was cute. "Can I ask how you didn't go mad?"

"No." Fair enough. Loki had turned away from my position on the counter and watched as a creature that moved in a snake like maneuver had slithered it's way out of the portal. Wowza. Slowly, I slid onto the floor and moved to stand next to Loki who was now standing on the balcony that overlooked the city in chaos. I felt my heart begin to race as smoke began to billow from the buildings while Tony flew throwout the city, trying to contain the army invading it. Loki's eyes could be felt on my frame and I knew he was thinking about making fun of my worry over my home. I turned my head to face him and watched as his lips opened in an attempt to say something before closing as if he decided against it. "Do not allow this to go to your head, but I strongly disagree with your previous statement about your master."

I was silent for a few seconds, eyebrows furrowed in confusion as I tried to remind myself what I had said about my boss, before remembering that they had said I wasn't strong enough to help. Despite them not truly saying that they didn't believe I could fight, it was in the tone. 

"What, you think I can take you in a fight? You and your little fighter monkeys?" Loki let out a guffaw at my statement. His pale cheeks created dimples the size of craters when he laughed degradingly at me but I couldn't help but let out a laugh of my own. While he was doing so to make fun of me and what I had said, hearing someone such as Loki laugh was still enjoyable. 

"That is not what I said, mortal. I simply stated that I believe that you can fight, not that you are nearly enough to take me in a match." I felt my lips curl in what could pass as a smirk before turning away from the sight of the city to refill my drink with the remainder of Tony's whiskey. 

"I have a name, you know. It's Allison." I couldn't help but feel as if I was getting somewhere with the God of Mischief that now stood on the other side of the room, still overlooking his handy work, as I took a sip of the warming liquid. 

"So I am told. That does not mean that I wish to use it. For using your name would cause you to think that you are anything of importance." I was wrong. Ignoring his ignorance once more, I rolled my eyes before putting the glass down. Screams of chaos flooded into the penthouse apartment and I watched as Loki peered over the side of the balcony. 

"Okay, horny." Loki turned his face towards me, his jet black eyebrows furrowed in a mixture of anger and confusion at the name, before stalking over to where I stood behind Tony's bar. His expression of anger and his tightened grip on the scepter in his hands caused a wave of fear to wash over my bones. My fight or flight instinct had been non-existent as my feet were now glued to my spot the closer he got. Within seconds, he had gripped my throat once more and I was pinned against the metal fridge. Cold skin wrapped around my esophagus while cold metal seeped through the fabric of my uniform.

"What did you say, you insufficient mortal?" His tone was low and intimidating, his pale white skin flushed with a light shade of red from the anger, and I watched as a fire raged behind his ocean blue eyes. This wasn't going to shut me up though. 

"I called you Horny. You know, cause of your helmet." My words pushed their way though the opening in my throat that was being squeezed shut. I was running low on oxygen and my vision was fading in and out, black hanging around the outlines of my sight. If it wasn't for one of the Avengers swooping into save the day, I was sure that my life would be ended because I called Loki horny. 

At the sound of Thor landing with a thud on the outside landing, both my attention and Loki's had turned to the blonde haired God of Thunder. He stood with his lips curled in a seething anger with his eyes holding the fires of a thousand suns. He was pissed. 

"Oh, hello, brother." Loki had addressed Thor as his brother but the word had dripped with disgust as he went to meet him on the landing. I watched from the kitchen as the siblings had a heated exchange filled with unkind words which eventually led to an array of violent activities. Once Thor had held Loki firmly in his grasp, he had informed him that the God of Mischief needed to look at the destruction he had caused throughout the city of New York and that he could stop it should he really want to. "I can't. It's too late."

For a minute, both Thor and I had thought that there was even a sliver of regret laced within the bones of someone that could be so vile but that all went away when Loki fought his way out of the grasp of his brother and fell off the edge of the building. I jumped from my spot in the kitchen to race towards where the God had just fallen from but at the sight of him rising on an alien aircraft, I stopped in my tracks. He didn't fall to his death. I wasn't sure that I was happy or sad about that. Thor had glanced at me in the middle of the living room with my mouth agape at what I just say. He gave me a brief nod before taking off in the direction of another giant snake like alien had come out of the sky. More explosions had littered the town and smoke billowed out of the numerous buildings that made the city. New York was going down fast, and if the Avengers didn't do something fast, I had doubts that we would ever come back from this.


	8. the End of Battle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is not my best chapter. in my opinion, it is messy and poorly written but I wanted to get this out because it had been so long since I updated this story. I hope you guys like this chapter in all of its trashy glory. 
> 
> word count: 2393

Close to an hour had passed since Loki had removed himself from Stark tower with Thor following closely behind. I was getting antsy. Seeing all of the terror that my city was going through and not being able to do anything about it had caused my bones to rattle as I paced around the terrace. There wasn't much I could do around here than worry about the fact that there was something else I could be doing, that I could be down there on the ground floor helping out rather than hiding away up here to wait for the attack to end. 

"That's it. I need to help. Jarvis, where is Tony?" I had stormed back into the living room and asked Friday to inform me of where my father figure was in the city. I was going down to help and Tony would be the last person I would want to see while I was on the streets. Once the computer system informed me that he was a good couple of blocks away, I had asked for the suit that I arrived in to be brought back up.

"Ma'am, I do advise against that. Tony had ordered you to stay put." I rolled my eyes at how obedient Jarvis is. 

"Well Tony isn't here right now, so bring me that suit." A series of loud clunking and metal being taken apart had been heard behind me. Shit. My eyes closed and my face had scrunched up as I slowly turned to see what had landed just behind me, hoping that it wasn't Tony who Jarvis had told me was a few blocks away. "Jarvis, you're a traitor."

"My apologies, miss." I peeked one eye open to find Tony Stark standing in front of me with his arms crossed and his eyes holding nothing less than disappointment. My shoulders fell in annoyance before I opened the other eye and began to head back to the couch that was sitting in the lower level of the living room. 

"I am here now, thanks to the traitor." I gave a heavy sigh before rolling my eyes and falling back against the couch pillows. Tony was the last person that I wanted to be here and it looked as though my worst nightmare had been answered. "I don't know why I have to keep telling you this, Allison, but you are not going to go out there. I am not going to allow you to put your life in danger if I have something to say about it."

"But I can fight! You were with me when I was being trained!" Arguing wasn't going to help much, I knew this. Every time that I argued with Tony, it never ended out how I wanted it to. But when have I ever learned from my mistakes? Tony slammed his hand on the counter near him and looked at me with anger in his eyes. 

"Damn it, Allison! I do not have time to argue about this! If I have to have Jarvis barricade the doors or lock you in the garage, I will do so. End of discussion!" With the note, Tony took off once more in the direction of the havoc that New York was undergoing. After I was left to myself, again, I screamed in aggravation before crossing my arms in a form of childlike anger. All I could do now was hope that this wouldn't go on for too much longer. 

It was close to twenty minutes later when someone else had joined me in Tony's home. While it had been the one person in New York that I didn't want here again, it was someone none the less. Loki had landed in the room with a rolling tumble with a green Hulk following closely behind. At the overwhelming sight of Bruce Banner in his angered form, I quickly ran to hide behind the bar. Everyone knows that Bruce doesn't really have any control over what Hulk does yet and it was best to stay clear of his eyesight when this happened. Still, I couldn't help but peek around the corner to catch sight of Loki mouthing off to Hulk.

"I am a God, you dull creature, and I will not be bullied by some-" He was cut off by the 'dull creature' gripping his ankle and throwing him from one side to the other like a rag doll while screams ripping through his throat. I had to keep them held in myself. While Loki was someone who was trying to take over my planet and my city, I still had a heart and seeing someone, even one such as Loki, go through this had been something that I would not wish on my worst enemy. It looked painful, to say the least. 

Once the Hulk had finished leaving Loki close to death no doubt, he had left to go deal with what was on the ground floor once more. I watched from behind the counter as Loki had groaned. I should do something. I slowly moved from my position to kneel beside the God whose eyes flicked towards my frame. He couldn't move just yet. His body had just been through something extremely violent and had not mustered up the courage to stand had he not broken any bones. 

"Loki, are you okay?" All he could do was answer in a groan that let me know that if he could let the words fall from his mouth, he would be less than kind. I didn't know what to do. I looked at the cuts on his face and the blood seeping from those open wounds before looking back at the rags in the kitchen. The least I could do was clean him up, make him presentable when the Avengers return to get his crippled body to wherever they are going to take him. I returned from the kitchen with a bowl of warm water and a wet rag, taking my position once more of kneeling next to him. "I am going to clean you up, okay? Don't fight me. Not like you could right now anyways."

If he couldn't move or even speak at the moment, I was not going to hold back my snarky comments and how I felt about what was going on. Loki groaned in annoyance once more while I took the fabric and softly rubbed the drying blood away from the skin. I could feel him tense and attempt to pull away underneath it. Deciding to push my limits, I slowly moved the black locks of hair away from his face to get the blood that had seeped through it. 

"I don't agree with what you are doing, not in the least bit. In fact, I think it's kind of childish that you are doing all of this because you went through a life of torture and torment after having a father treat your older brother better. I grew up having the same issue with my father but that doesn't mean I am going to go and try and take over a different planet or realm just to pull a fit." The fire of a thousand suns had begun to rage behind Loki's eyes the more I had discussed how I felt regarding this entire situation. That wasn't going to stop me though. "Don't even get me started on your literal God complex. Just because you are in fact the God of Mischief, that doesn't make you any better than anyone else. You see how Thor treats everyone? That guy gets on my nerves to no end but he treats everyone with respect and like he is no different from them."

Loki's fingers had twitched in anger and I took that as a sign to stop. Sure, he was the god of Mischief and he was a horrible person who was literally in the middle of trying to take over my world, but I wasn't heartless. I raised my hands in surrender before continuing the process of wiping the blood off his face. 

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought up Thor." His eyes had danced across my pale features while I slowly put the rag to the side of his frame after I finished tending to his wounds as best I could. My shoulders fell as a heavy sigh left my lips with my eyes falling to look outside once more at the city in ruins. 

"If you think kneeling next to me whilst I am in pain is going to keep me from escaping once I regain my strength, you are mistaken, mortal." Loki's voice had returned once more. My attention has snapped back to the God who lay before me whose eyes were holding the pain of his wounds. His voice was raspy and hoarse, as if he had been screaming for thousands of years and had just now stopped. 

"It's not like you can even get up right now, Loki. Just calm down for one second and rest." He watched my features once more, curiosity dancing around his bright blue eyes as he took in my face as if he hadn't seen it before. In the midst of the staring and overwhelming silence, I had fallen to the side to sit on my butt as my knees began to ache from my weight. With my body facing the city and arms wrapped around my knees that had been brought up to my chest, I turned my head to glance at the broken man beside me. "Who is really doing this?"

Loki furrowed his deep black eyebrows in slight curiosity as he took in my words. I knew this wasn't him. I had heard stories of old about him and knew that he was behind the fight in New Mexico. But New Mexico wasn't to take over an entire town. It was to get to Thor. I learned that after some extensive research after finding out that Asgard and the likes were real and not just some myth that I learned in college. 

"Don't try and tell me that this is all you. I don't know you personally but there are stories about you and New Mexico? Taking over an entire world and killing every civilian in your path doesn't exactly match up with your previous acts." I watched as his body rose and fell as he exhaled a heavy sigh, his blue eyes flicking to the ceiling above him. Him opening up and telling me who was really behind this entire attack wasn't something that I expected him to do but it couldn't hurt to try. "I know that this who sentiment thing and showing weakness isn't exactly your forte, but if you told me who was really behind it, I could try and talk to bleach blondie to make your punishment less severe than whatever he has planned." 

Loki had once again remained silent as I tried to get information out of him. At least this time he had gone against throwing countless insults of my lineage in my direction. I let out a sigh before looking back at the city past the balcony. Smoke still billowed out of countless buildings and the heroes still raced across town. The static coming over my com had broken the silence on my end. 

"Hey, Allison. Don't be worried or anything but I'm about to take a nuke into space." Tony's voice had come across the speaker in my ear and my eyes went wide. I stood from my spot beside Loki to rushed to the edge of the balcony past the broken glass and watched as Tony rushed past the city with an armed missile on his back. "I tried to call Pepper but she didn't pick up."

"Tony, what the fuck are you thinking? You're going to get yourself killed!" I could practically hear him rolling his eyes at my statement but he knew that dying was a huge possibility in doing so. His suits aren't equipped for space and the portal would close before he could make it out. Tony had yet to speak as I watched him turn towards the sky. "Tony, don't you dare do this. You are like my dad and we can't do this without you. Think of Pepper."

"I am thinking of Pepper. This is the only way to stop it, Ali. If I don't, it won't stop. Thanks for being so great, kid. Don't do anything I wouldn't do." 

"Tony? Tony!" The line had gone dead after that. He had hung up. Watching him race through the portal caused my heart to stop as I watched it start to slowly close. Time seemed to seize as everyone watched expectantly, waiting for the famous Iron Man to fall from the sky. Right before the portal closed, everyones' prayers were answered as Tony Stark fell through the hole and began plummeting towards the ground. "Oh thank goodness." 

"I take it he made it out?" The smooth and velvet voice of Loki had turned my attention away from Hulk who had helped Tony reach the ground safely. I grit my teeth together as my eyes turned to slits when my body whipped towards the God who now leaned against the stairs behind him. I wanted to slap him in the face and beat him till he was broken again but I had to remind myself that he was not fully behind this attack. 

"You may be an arrogant, self centered, ignorant piece of shit who thinks he is better than those that walk in every other realm than yours, and you may have done shit to my city that we might never come back from. Despite me wanting to beat you until you are black and blue for nearly killing my entire family, I won't because I know that you are not one hundred percent behind this attack." Pointing my finger towards the god before me, I stalked towards him with anger dripping from my skin. "But know this, Loki, if I ever find the thing who is responsible for this and responsible for you? They will not wake to see another day." 

He gave me an understanding look, one that surprised me, before his eyes turned to slits as the new Avengers had arrived behind me. My work here was done.


	9. Meeting with Royalty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> word count: 3271
> 
> I am going to delay the events that happen in TDW for a bit just to get Loki and Alli's relationship truly up and running. I wish I could just skip that movie all together because it is not my favorite but in order to do what I wish to do with this story, I have to include it until I think of a way to do otherwise.

Shaky fingers and a rapid heartbeat had rushed through my skin in order to wake me from yet another nightmare regarding the attacks on New York. It had only been a few short days since I watched Thor take a handcuffed Loki back to the realm of Asgard yet his pale and ocean eyes had plagued my thoughts as well as the sights of my city in ruins. A bead of sweat trickled down my warm skin while my eyes danced across my darkened room in search of some form of safety net. Upon realizing that I was in no form of real danger, I shook my head and reached for my phone to see what time it was. Bright white numbers shined along the top of the screen along with a few notifications from Tony and Steve. 

It was 3:47 in the morning. Tony had just sent a message three minutes ago which told me that he was up as well and his mind was also filled with nightmares regarding what happened. I can't even imagine how bad his are. Steve had messaged me five hours ago and informed me that he was doing okay. I told all of the members who were involved in the fight, Thor included, to keep me updated on how they were doing until they felt like they didn't need to anymore. Thor' would be al little bit harder to keep up with but he would get in touch with me if needed. I quickly messaged Tony back before falling back to rest my head on my mattress. It's going to be another restless night. 

When the sun began to peek through my blindfolds, I decided to peel myself out of bed to make me a cup of crappy coffee to try and stay awake. Fury had allowed Natasha, Clint, and I a couple days off in order to get our mind right before returning to work and today was my last day off. My fingers wrapped tightly around the coffee mug as I made my way out onto my landing that overlooked the outskirts of Manhattan. The salary I made working for SHIELD wasn't much but it was enough to afford a decent apartment in this part of town and whatever else I needed help with, Tony Stark was always there to help. He had argued with me when I declined his offer of him paying for a better apartment for me but I had turned him down by saying that I didn't want to be the type of person that leached off of the richest person that they know. To save his ego, I allowed him to help with small things like groceries and my subway card.

I tried my best to watch over the city that had begun it's rebuild and enjoy my last day off. Everything would go back to normal tomorrow and I would abandon sitting on my balcony to pass the time. My eyes drifted over to the work of fiction that lay atop my table beside the chair I was sitting in and my mug was set to the side as I put my entire attention on the words across the page. It seemed like hours had passed as I lost myself in the pages and it was only when I was torn from the world in front of me that I had noticed someone was in my apartment. The person standing in my living room was someone that I had thought and hoped I would never see again.

"Thor, what are you doing in my home? Shouldn't you be at your house, you know, on Asgard?" The man that wore silver and red armor followed me into the kitchen as I went to put my now cold coffee in the sink to wash later. I turned to find him standing in the archway connecting the living room and my kitchen, his eyes holding a dozen emotions and not one of them being readable, as I raised my hands for me to answer my question. 

"My lady, you must come back to Asgard with me. My father, Odin, wishes that you do with Loki as you did when he was in SHIELD's hands." I rolled my eyes before abandoning the man in my kitchen to sit on my couch. My feet were thrown onto my coffee table and the tv was turned on as the news had continued to report on what happened in New York City. My job was to try and talk to Loki, to find out what exactly he had planned, and it didn't do any good. I didn't do my job correctly and for that reason, I highly doubted that the king of Asgard wanted me to talk to Loki again. "While nobody is in imminent danger as my brother is currently locked in a cell for all eternity, we do wish that you would talk to him to try and find out what went wrong after he left Asgard."

I looked up at Thor as he pleaded for me to come and try to talk sense into his adopted brother. Seeing the raven haired man who had thrown insults at me and left bruises on my neck that were still healing was not something that I really wanted to do, but I also had to remember that Loki was not at the head of the entire attack. Whether everyone else believed it or not, I had to remember that someone was moving Loki around like a puppet and telling him to do these things. It was for this reason, and this reason alone, that I hesitantly nodded and said okay.

"Let me pack my things. We have to make a pitstop at Tony's though. I need to tell him where I will be going. He will tell everyone else." Thor watched as I stood from my spot, eyebrows furrowed slightly before taking in my words.

"My lady, you do not need to pack. Your clothes are no match to those we wear on Asgard and we will provide you with the adequate clothing and items. But, I will agree on stopping by Tony Stark's home." It was surprising at first when I learned that I didn't need to pack anything. All of my clothes and belongings would be left here in my apartment for who knows how long while I was away in some foreign place. Then my mind clicked and I realized that wearing clothes fit for Earth would not be appropriate on a place such as Asgard. With the way Thor and Loki had dressed, I knew that I would be wearing clothes fit for royalty. 

Thor followed closely behind as we made our way to what remained of Stark Tower. When picking where my apartment was, I allowed Tony to have some say in where its as placed and he chose one close to where he and Pepper resided. He claimed that he didn't have to worry about me being too far away, and while that is true, I think he just liked being able to look out his window and see that my apartment building wasn't in flames yet. We entered the building to find the place sparkling clean on the inside with little to no damage on the bottom floor. It was when we reached the home of Tony Stark and Pepper Potts did we see the true extent of the damage. Sure, I was up here whilst everything had happened but my mind had been preoccupied with other things and therefore I never really looked around at the damage done. 

My eyes drifted to the Loki sized hole in the floor as we made our way to where Tony stood on the balcony, my gaze lingering just a moment too long as I remembered our moment of silence, before I turned my attention to my closest companion. 

"Ali! What are you doing here with the lifeguard? I thought he was back in Asgard." I gave Tony a brief embrace before turning to Thor, giving the notion for him to explain as to why the two of us graced the man with our presence. He went into the same story that he told me upon arriving; that Loki was locked away for life in the Asgard prison but that Odin wished for me to be there to try and talk to his adopted son. Tony had given the man a questioning look before shrugging. "Well, have fun with reindeer games. I'll let Fury and his band of misfits know."

Knowing that Tony was going to handle telling the others about where I would be eased my worries a little. If anyone tried to complain about the fact that I had decided to go on a last minute trip to Asgard to talk to the person who destroyed our city, Tony would set them straight. 

After saying goodbye to Tony was over and done with, I followed Thor out to an area where a circle of strange marks had been left in the ground. I knew what it was from. When Thor took Loki back to Asgard after the attacks, the rainbow beam that had shot down from the sky had left the marks. Knowing that I would have to go through that beam myself to get to Asgard had worried me slightly but Thor had stated that I would be okay.

"Just hold on to me and we will be on Asgard in no time." I nodded slowly before hesitantly wrapping my arms around the man, the cool metal sending shocks through my skin. "Heimdall, when you're ready." 

After Thor informed whoever Heimdall was that we were ready to go to Asgard, the bright colorful beam had swallowed us whole and I felt my feet lift off the ground. I couldn't help but look around at what was surrounding us as we soared through the beam and within seconds, we arrived in a rounded room coated in a golden shimmer of color. A dark skinned man wearing armor that matched the room's hue had gripped a large sword whilst watching Thor and me land. 

"I take it you're Heimdall? I'm Allison." The man gave me a sideways glance before informing me that he already knew who I was and what part I held in the attacks on New York. He knew why I was here but didn't seem to happy about it. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion before following Thor to where two horses stood awaiting our arrival. When I noticed the 8 legs on one of the animals, I thought back to the stories I had read about Loki birthing a horse like this one. There was no doubt in my mind that this was Sleipnir when I slowly approached him. The horse lowered its head to my outreached hand when I was close enough, his nose flaring as he breathed, before allowing me to get on his back. 

"Are you ready to meet my mother, Allison? She will give you the appropriate clothing before meeting my father." I looked over at Thor once comfortable on Sleipnir and gave a quick nod. While I was in no way prepared to meet Thor and Loki's mother, I was here on Asgard and had agreed to do as the king wished. I couldn't turn back now. 

I followed Thor on horseback out of the circular room onto a bridge that had a similar color scheme to that of the beam of light we just arrived in. In front of us held a city with a shimmering gold castle in the distance pushed against a bright and colorful sky. Mountains had been seen in the distance. As we rode along the bridge, my eyes drifted to the water below us. It was a vibrant and clear aqua that teased its way into my mind, making me want nothing more than to swim in its waters. The sight of Asgard had left me breathless. 

We arrived at the palace gates a few minutes later. Guards dressed in the same color as the palace itself had stood firmly with one hand holding a spear and the other gripping the handles. They assisted me in getting off the large horse that I had been riding before handing the reins to another guard along the sides. Afterwards, the grand gates were opened and the two of us entered into the courtyard that was just as amazing as everything else in Asgard. If it wasn't for Thor walking up to a woman who stood in front of the gates, I could have stood there for hours taking in everything. 

"Hello, dear. You must be Allison." The woman had caught sight of me standing awkwardly to the side after embracing her son and shook my hand tightly. I gave her a kind smile before nodding. I was unsure of what to call her and had decided that it was best I do not say anything to not insult the queen of Asgard. She caught sight of this and chuckled politely. "You can call me Frigga. You are here to deal with my son after all." 

Frigga had given me a warm smile and all of the awkwardness that was bottled up had disappeared. This woman was so kind and I could tell that Thor loved her a lot, Loki on the other hand I was unsure of.

"Mother, would you please take her to her chambers and show her the clothing that she is to wear before meeting father?" Mother. Father. What is this? Frigga nodded at her son before wrapping her arm carefully around mine to take me in the direction we were supposed to go in. I glanced back at Thor as he walked off in another direction. Leaving me alone with the Queen of somewhere I had never been before probably wasn't the best thing for him to do, but it was very obvious that he wasn't the smart one out of the two siblings. 

"I wouldn't be too nervous about meeting the Allfather. My husband is many things but he is not a heartless man so any concerns that you may have regarding your stay here, feel free to bring it up to him." I gave an understanding smile, telling her that I would do so, to the woman who was bringing me to where I would be sleeping whilst I was here before falling silent once more. I was unsure of whether I was scared to face Odin, the person who I had read stories about and who I had read had treated Loki so poorly, or if I was scared to face the God of Mischief once more. "I do appreciate the lengths you are going to for my son. His emotions tend to get the better of him and I apologize for the havoc that he inflicted on your world."

"It's no problem at all, miss. Loki was not in the right mind when he was on Earth and it was my job to get more information than I did out of him in order to stop him. I didn't do my job well enough and my city suffered from it." I felt her pat my arm softly before shaking her head. She disagreed with me, on what I did not know, but the matter was dropped as we entered a room full of lavish furniture. 

A four poster bed had sat pushed against the wall adjacent to the doors with a walk in closet to the left. Of course, golden colors had been placed throughout the room on things such as the bed set and the trim along the walls with a few other colors such as red and green thrown here and there. The right side of the room opened up to a large terrace that overlooked Asgard. Frigga took notice of my mouth that hung agape and gave a kind chuckle before pulling out a dress much like those I had seen around the palace. It was beautiful.

"I will give you a moment to change and then we will head to the throne room to meet the Allfather." Frigga had stepped out of the room after that, closing the grand doors behind her, and I was left alone for the first time since this morning. I sat on the bed in disbelief at what was really happening. I was on Asgard, for fuck's sake, and was about to go meet Odin. This was the stuff that I found myself reading on boring days in college and now it was actually real. I was sitting on the palace on Asgard. 

"This has to be a dream." My words came out in a hushed whisper before I fell back onto the bed to allow it to swallow me whole. I pinched my skin to make sure that I was not sleeping and when pain shot through my body, I sat back up. "Holy shit."

It took a few moments for me to get into the dress that Frigga had left on the chair beside the closet, my body being just a few sizes too big, but once I was able to squeeze into the fabric, I informed the queen that I was ready. She entered the room once more and watched as my fingers shakily moved down my sides to get rid of any wrinkles that were caused.

"You look lovely. The Allfather is awaiting your arrival." I gave a brief nod before turning on my heels to follow her out of my room. We walked through countless halls that all bared the same color before arriving at a long hall that held a large throne at the end. From the entrance, I could see Thor standing beside the chair with what I could only assume was Odin in it. I knew about Odin. I knew stories about him and what he has done. From the way Loki acted whenever he was mentioned, I could only assume that things that I had read before and come to think were true. I swallowed all of that down though in order to be respectful of the King who had allowed me to stay in his home. 

Frigga had abandoned my side once we were close to the throne to go stand by her family, and I was left to courtesy to the King. He was an intimidating man. With a golden eyepatch placed over one eye and grey hair down to his shoulders with a beard to match, it was no surprise that I didn't want to stay in his presence any longer than needed. I stood from my courtesy with shaky knees before allowing him to speak. 

"My son, Thor, has requested that you come to Asgard to talk to the prisoner much like you did when he was in your care on Midgard." Fighting my urge to furrow my eyebrows and cock my head at his statement that Thor was the one who wished for me to come here, I glanced over to the God of Thunder briefly who had looked away. Why would he lie? "Against my better judgement, I agreed. Your job here is to do exactly what was done when you were with him on your own world and nothing more. Is that clear?" 

"Yes, Allfather." Odin was silent for a few moments before looking at the guards who stood to the side, ready to do anything and everything that was told of them, before giving a nod. It was then did they move towards me.

"Good. You start now."


	10. coming to Asgard

With one behind and one in front, the guards that had been standing along the sidelines had brought me down the dimly lit corridor that led to the cells below the palace. My skin was crawling with my nerves and I suddenly found it hard for me to breath. What did I get myself into? I agreed to sit in a room with the person who had wrapped his fingers around my neck on more than one occasion and who had tried to kill my adopted family. Maybe I should go back. I didn't really need to be here. Thor had told me before we left that nobody was in any real danger since Loki was locked away in a cell. I could just leave. I could tell Thor that I couldn't do it and to bring me back to New York. Yeah, let's do that. I looked up from my fingers that had started pulling at the fabric of the silk dress to find the guard stopped in front of me as they opened the door that led to the cells. Shit, it was too late. 

"One of us will be here at all times. Whenever you are ready to leave, just let whoever is here know and we will let you out. You do not have to stay in there for any set period of time." The guard behind me spoke out the rules to my engagement as he led me down the hall of jail cells with a shimmering wall separating us and the prisoners within them. Despite me being able to leave Loki's cell at any period of time, I had to be there by 7:30 AM. That was when my day was to begin, no exceptions. "If for any reason, you fail to perform these duties as demanded, the Allfather will send you back to Midgard with no questions asked. Good luck, miss."

Loki's cell was different than the others. For starters, it had furniture. Where the other cells were bare and left the prisoners to stand for hours on end, this one was made to look like a lavish apartment room minus the kitchen and bathroom set up. I wouldn't mind spending eternity in this place if I had to be in prison. I tried my best to avoid looking at the man who stood with his hands clasped behind his back as the guards allowed me into his cell. I could feel the familiar ocean blue eyes on me with every step I took towards the chair in the corner though. Soon enough, after settling myself down in the chair, I looked up at the man who had looked exactly the same as he did when he left Earth in handcuffs. The only thing different was that his hair was neatly brushed back and clean with the scars left over from Hulk being almost gone now. 

"To what do I owe the pleasure of you being here?" His voice was still the velvety smooth that shot shivers down my spine as I watched him move to sit on his bed whilst picking up a book. He didn't open the novel though. Loki sat on his mattress with his attention still pointed in my direction as I sat awkwardly in the corner while one of the guards stood with his back towards the cell we were currently housed in. 

"Bleach blondie thought that I could help find out why you did what you did, find out what has happened to you." The God sitting in front of me had scoffed at my words, shaking his head, before reclining to lay on his bed and finally opened the book. "I know, right? I told Frigga that I did a horrible job with New York and that I was bad at my job so I don't understand why they thought I would be any better here."

Silence fell over the two of us after my words. Loki's eyes flicked across the page while glancing over at me occasionally as I looked around at the room surrounding us in order to pass the time. I caught sight of the other prisoners and watched as their lips moved rapidly as if they were speaking yet I couldn't hear anything. Part of me wondered what they were saying, what their topic of conversation was or what was running through their minds as they were locked away in a prison underneath literal Gods, but then the other part of me remembered that there was a reason that they were down here. They had gone up against things of legends, and while they lost, they were still dangerous. Goosebumps rose across my skin as I thought about the things that they could do to harm me. Everything in this place could snap my body like a twig and not think twice about it, even Loki. 

"You weren't bad at your job. You just weren't prepared for me." Loki had ripped through the silence that had overtaken the room as his eyes still flicked across the pages of the book he was reading. My eyebrows furrowed as if I didn't hear him right before shaking my head to process the words. Was that supposed to be a compliment? If so, I didn't take it as one. The fact that I wasn't prepared for him is exactly why I was terrible at my job. Loki looked over at me and put his book face down on his chest. "Am I wrong?" 

"Actually, for once, you are wrong. Me being not ready for you is the reason I was bad at my job. Loki, I knew more about you and your kind than anyone else on that ship besides Thor and that is why I was put there with you. I was supposed to slip through your tricks and games to find out what was going on and I didn't do that." Loki's chest rose and fell with his breaths as he listened to what I was saying. The more I explained how bad I was at my job and how him getting the better of me meant that I had failed, the more I felt my blood boil. I remembered how his cold fingers wrapped around my neck and tightened my throat to where I could barely breath upon first meeting me, and again once we were alone in the tower. I remembered how he called me a whining cunt for wanting to relate to him. All of the pain that he inflicted upon me when he didn't know the first thing about me. "Why did you do it? Who put you up to it?" 

My words were laced with venom which reached Loki in a way that caused him to sit up straight on his bed rather than laying down. His blue eyes flickered with something other than anger which had come of surprise to me as I was giving him nothing but that. I was angry. I was hurt because of a man that I had never meant before two weeks ago. 

"Please, Loki." I pleaded for him to tell me who was really behind New York. I wasn't sure if I was looking for something to give me a reason to not hate him as much as I am supposed to or if I really truly believed that he was not one hundred percent behind the attack like I had been telling myself. Loki had looked away from me to the guard who had taken notice of his slight nod. I take it that it was my time to leave. "Fine. Don't tell me. I will be back tomorrow morning." 

The second guard had arrived and the two of them had directed me out of the cell to the hallways leading up to the main floor of the palace. We walked in silence as they brought me back to my room. Frigga had informed me on the way to the throne room just a few hours prior that the floor I would be staying on was the same floor that Thor stayed on as well as Loki when he wasn't imprisoned. She also told me that their rooms were on the other side of the palace though, as a way to give the children their privacy as they grew up. She had wondered if that was the best idea now. 

"If you need anything, let us know. Dinner will be presented to you soon. You are to eat in your quarters." Great, so I am basically a prisoner. I tried to be respectful by briefly nodding my head before stepping into my room to have the door closed behind me. My shoulders fell in defeat as my eyes danced around the room once more. The sunset had painted a picture of a pink and orange across the entire room and I felt my feet bringing me to the terrace past the grand glass doorways that you would find in a mansion other 10 million dollars on Earth. My fingers ran along the cool marble railing that had created a barrier separating me and falling to my death below in the city.

I could see just about everything from my room. The circular room that Thor and I had arrived in could be seen spinning in the distance as someone left this realm to move onto another with furious waves crashing along it. Past the room, there was a drop off where the rushing water fell below into empty space. My eyes drifted towards the rainbow bridge that went from the center of town all the way towards the spinning room and watched as it was shimmering underneath the sunset painting the town a vibrant orange and pink color. I watched as lights began to light up the city before me as night began to arrive. I don't think I would ever get over how beautiful Asgard truly was. 

A soft knock had drawn me from the trance that the city in front of me had put me in, my head turning to find one of the maidens bringing in a plate of food along with a chalice filled with what looked like red wine. I gave a polite smile as the woman placed it on the table in the middle of my room before she left me alone once more. Despite the delicious smell wafting itself into the air and through my senses, something lingered in the pit of my stomach that resulted in my desire to eat being nonexistent. I stared at the food longingly before turning my attention back to the planet before me. If it hadn't been for my phone ringing, I would have been able to stare at Asgard forever. Natasha's name came across my screen and with pure shock, I answered it hesitantly. 

"Allison?" Her voice came across the line as clear as eve. If I was being honest, it was better than when I was on Earth. I shook my head before coming back to the realization that I still had contact with those back on my planet before listening to her speak. "Tony said you were with Thor, that you went to Asgard? Why the hell would you do that?" 

"Yeah, that is one hundred percent true. Thor needed me on Asgard to talk to, um, Loki. . ." The name of the God of Mischief who had literally just gotten done reeking all sorts of havoc on my city had come out hesitantly. I knew that she wouldn't be happy to hear that I was going to be seeing Loki everyday again. Tony had been upset but he knew that I had a heart of gold and couldn't say no despite all the hell that was rained down on New York because of the god. Natasha was silent for a split moment.

"Did I hear you correctly? Did you say Loki?" My silence had answered her question. "Are you fucking kidding me, Allison? You are going to see him again after what he did? Did you just completely forget about the past week, or was that all in my head? I can't believe you."

"Look, Nat, I am still not one hundred percent sure that he was behind the attack. Yes, it was him running the frontlines, but he told me that there was a bigger thing at play so that means that he wasn't in charge. Until I find out if he was lying or telling the truth, I am going to do what I do best and talk to him. If you don't agree with that, I am sorry but I can't talk to you right now." That was the end of that conversation. I was not going to allow someone whom I had known all of two years to belittle me because of a decision I made all on my own. I set my phone on the bedside table after that and let out a groan of anger. 

I know that Natasha had every right to feel the way she does. Everyone has the right to their own opinion. But her degrading mine had crossed the line. I have the right to think that Loki was under the influence of something far greater than him, just like she has the right to think that he wasn't. My shoulders fell in defeat as I threw myself on the mattress that engulfed me in its blanket once more. This was going to be a long trip.


	11. calm discussions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this chapter is more so of like a filler chapter? i wanted to put some loki/allison interactions in here where they weren't trying to kill each other and insult their entire being so this chapter was born.

"If you mortals despite me as much as I have heard, why do you wish to spend your days in my presence?" Loki's smooth voice had ripped through the air that had grown thick from the silence as I lay on the floor of his cell tossing a ball in the air. My head turned on its side to find him staring at me with curiosity flowing in his eyes and fingers stopped mid motion of turning a page in the books. It had been two days since I arrived on Asgard and this had become our daily routine. I came and occupied my time with things found around the cell while he lay on his bed reading whatever novel he had decided to pick up that day. It was peaceful almost. 

"Honestly, I am not sure. I mean, yeah I don't despite you as much as the rest of Earth does, but I guess I don't have anything else to do?" The ball that was being thrown was put back on the floor as my hands fell to rest on my stomach with my gaze pointed back at the ceiling. In some ways that was true. I didn't hate him as much as my companions on Earth, and while I did have work, there wasn't much else I did. "I got tired of doing the same thing every day so when Thor came and invited me back, I took the chance." 

Loki gave a brief nod that could be seen out of the corner of my eye before turning his attention back to the book he was reading. Silence fell over us once more as I allowed my eyes to close for a split second, enjoying the relaxation that coursed through my bones, when curiosity got the better of me. I turned on my side to face Loki and the action had caused him to raise his head once more.

"What were you like as a kid? Did you get into the same shit that kids on Earth do, or did you do different stuff cause you're a God?" Loki pursed his lips as he grew deep in thought, pushing his book to the side as well as the few locks of deep black hair that had fallen out of the bun behind his ear. His hands clasped together before resting on his lower stomach while thinking. The corners of my lip twitched knowing that he was thinking so hard on a question I asked him. The fact that he wasn't trying to kill me anymore had brought a warmth through my veins that I would never tell him.

"In some ways, it was quite different. Instead of being able to play with what little friends I had acquired, Thor and I were left training in the courtyards to be fighters and use our strengths to the best of our ability. Odin had trained through whilst mother trained me in our many libraries to become comfortable with the magic I possess. On other days, we were in the throne room or walking around the palace with Odin to learn how to rule." I watched with my eyes trained on him while he went on about his childhood. It was sad that he wasn't able to play with his friends like normal children and was stuck figuring out how to be a king when Odin had no intentions of allowing him to rule. I noticed how a sliver of pain had washed through his eyes at the mention of ruling. 

"I know you don't want to hear it, but I am truly sorry for everything that you went through in your life. I know that my apology doesn't amount to much, with me being a mewling quim and all, but nobody deserves to have a father figure that hates them and then go through whatever that thing put you through with New York. I don't know what anyone says." I was sure that an apology directed towards how he was raised and grew up from a mortal such as myself was the last thing that Loki wanted to hear, especially from me. Even so, that didn't stop me from expressing my sorrow. 

"What makes you assume that I do not wish to hear your apology? Despite all that has been done between the two of us, that does not mean I do not appreciate your apologies for the actions that have happened." My lips twitched at his statement. He noticed this and I caught sight of how slight pink began to creep up his skin starting at his throat. Dare I say that it was cute? Because it was. "How was your childhood compared to mine?"

"Well, it was no training to be a king, I'll tell you that much. I went to school Monday through Friday and came home in the evenings to find my dad screaming and yelling at my mom, only for him to direct it towards me when he noticed that I was home. Saturdays and Sundays I tried to stay out of the house and so my mom took me out a lot but it didn't change that when I got home, my dad would do the same thing he did during the week." Loki's eyes had twinged slightly at me recalling my childhood with his eyebrows furrowed in what could come across as pity. "I didn't have many friends until I started training for SHIELD. That was where I met Nat and then, eventually met Steve. Steve and I had a falling out though after I rejected him but Nat and I remain pretty close still." 

"Rejected? You mean someone wished to court you and you made the unwise decision to turn their offer down? " I stared at Loki in disbelief, my eyebrows scrunched together as I tried to decide whether or not to take his statement as an insult. The fact that I had to stay in here with him for most part of every single day made my decision very clear. I didn't want to start any shit if I was to stay in this room with nothing blocking his fingers and my throat so I just rolled my eyes and ignored what he said. Just when I thought we were getting somewhere, he said something like that. 

"You know, if you weren't so snarky, I just might actually like you." Loki raised an eyebrow at what I said. It was true. Despite my feelings towards him already wavering on the line of like and dislike, had he not been so arrogant and snarky, I would have been on the side where I liked him. 

"Do you prefer our relationship to be that of what it was on Midgard, where I was trying to kill you with my bare hands?" I raised my hands in mock surrender with my eyes wide. My silent answer had caused a chuckle to rise from his throat and echo around the room. I will admit that this was a nice change of pace to what our relationship had been before he returned to Asgard to be prisoner. Loki had returned to reading his book while I went about my ways of going to mess with the few things that he had around his cell until my curiosity got the better of me once more.

"Is there anything that you miss doing and going to around here, like when you were growing up?" Loki had thrown his book down in obvious annoyance before standing from his mattress to come stand next to me beside the bookshelf. His fingers started to thumb through the works of literature as he thought about my question. 

"Yes. There is this lake along the far left side of the city just outside of the palace gates. When I wasn't being trained for a throne that my father had no intention of giving me, I found myself sitting along a tree to read. It passed the time and allowed me to become more knowledgeable in certain subjects. Here." Loki pulled out a thick leather bound book with his free hand waving his fingers above the cover. "Read this. Now, please, dear, I beg of you. Let me enjoy my solitary in silence for the remainder of the day and I swear to the Gods above me that tomorrow I will tell you whatever you wish to know if you are still in search of the knowledge." 

My hand reached out to take the book from his and my fingers slid across the skin of his own. While I had only felt the chill of his skin a few times before, goosebumps grew along my arm as the ice cold washed through my body. A shiver had followed and a blush creeped up my face. Loki had caught notice of my shiver and gave a smug smirk before turning to lay back on his bed to finish his book.


	12. a moment with the mother

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know my chapters aren't the longest considering how long it takes me to post them but i am trying to get better at making them longer. i have always been used to posting stories around 2k words and i realize that they need to be longer. so bare with me please.
> 
> also i really enjoyed writing this chapter and the scene with frigga. i wanted to make this one a chapter where she spends time with frigga because if she is going to be talking with loki and staying on asgard, she needs to have time with frigga and odin. yes, that means that i am going to write a chapter that involves her spending time with odin. i hate that but i will.

I woke up two hours early the next day for the sole purpose of slipping out of my room and going to watch the sunrise along the lake that Loki had talked about. A black hoodie was laying on the edge of my bed, one of the only pieces of clothing I brought with me, and I threw that on over my Asgardian clothing before cracking open the door to find the guards standing watch. I could very easily just ask them to take me to the lake that the God of Mischief had talked about, but in order to get the full effect of what he had said, I needed to go by myself. A shaky breath had escaped my lips as I closed the door slowly and turned to the only other exit in this room. It wasn't a safe or an easy exit but it was an exit nonetheless. 

Leaning over the edge of the balcony, I saw a smaller one positioned below mine. I could make it to that one with little to no injuries taken if I took the safest route which would be to climb down the ridges along the side of the building. I could do this. I work at SHIELD and have had some of the best training. I could do this. I positioned myself to throw my legs over the edge and just as I was about to push off, I heard the sound of the bedroom doors opening. My shoulders tensed as my head turned to find Frigga standing in the middle of the room with a curious expression across her face yet her lips were curled into a knowing smile. 

"Hi." I waved slightly before moving myself off the edge to approach the queen with a small bow. She chuckled politely at my predicament before glancing back at the closed doors. "I apologize. I wasn't running away. I just wanted a few moments away from the guards."

"He told you about the lake, did he? He must like you then. Not many people in Asgard know about that lake, nor do they know about Loki's adventures to it. Follow me." I felt the hint of a blush creep up my throat and land on my cheeks as I followed Frigga out of my chambers and down the halls of the palace. She walked with an elegance that made my nerves subside yet apart of me wondered if I would be scolded for wanting to get away from the guards even for a few moments. Frigga led me out of the palace and into the stables where they kept the horses, including the familiar 6 legged horse that I had rode on my way in. She motioned for the stable keepers to ready two of them before assisting me onto Sleipnir. The horse neighed appreciatively before allowing my fingers to run along his main.

"May I ask where we are going, miss?" Frigga had glanced at me from her position on her own horse with a knowing smile before we took off away from town. We were heading left of town, in the direction of the lake. I smiled. It was a short ride, maybe a total of five minutes, to the lake that took my breath away. The horses slowed to a stop and, without looking, I dropped with ease from Sleipnirs's back and onto the grass beneath. Frigga had watched with a knowing smile as I walked towards the shore line.

It was a shimmering blue lake that stretched out for miles with the mountain line beginning on the other side. The pink and orange sunrise had painted a picture across the water and gave a feeling of warmth to my skin as I stood in the sunlight. A picnic table was positioned farther down and a tall oak tree was planted a few feet from me. That was where Loki had sat, I had presumed. It was beautiful.

"The first time I saw Loki escaping to come here, he was barely into his teen years and came here almost every day. He would bring a different book each day, sometimes more than one because he knew he would be out here for most of the day. He didn't know that I knew about him coming here until I came to get him one day. Odin had ordered the boys to train a little extra that day as they were falling behind and Loki was nowhere to be found. In order to prevent Odin from scolding him, I came to get him." I smiled at the childhood stories of Loki coming here as I followed Frigga down to the picnic table to sit down for the time being. "We didn't go back at first. Loki and I sat in this spot for one hour before finally returning to continue their training."

My eyes drifted to watch the wind fly across the water whilst Frigga sat in front of me, continuing to tell me about Loki's childhood that he had yet to tell me. I didn't expect him to tell me what she was saying but then again I didn't expect him to tell me the things he had already said.

"What do you think of my son, Allison?" I looked back at Frigga with furrowed eyebrows. Was this a trick question? She looked at me expectantly and awaited my response. A sigh fell through my lips as I thought about my answer. "Please, be honest."

"I don't hate him. I feel as though I should given what he did to my planet, but I don't. He isn't a bad person. He has his issues and who doesn't? I have issues. I had a crappy father and I fall in love to strongly and too easily. My friends back home have issues and I am sure Thor has his issues." Frigga was silent this time as she listened to me discuss what I thought about her son. "I like being around him. He makes things easier and when I am around him, there is no pressure for me to say anything. He's kind, when he wants to be."

I fell silent as my mind ran through thoughts of Loki that filled my head. There were times when I thought of him in ways that a friend shouldn't think of him, even an acquaintance such as myself. I wouldn't classify us as friends because there were still times when he wanted to cause physical harm to me, that I knew. Regardless of the fact, there were times when I thought he was attractive and I had grown a crush on the man despite his actions. His raven black hair and the way his ocean blue eyes would look at me sometimes caused a storm in my heart that I had yet to push away. I was pulled away from my thoughts when Frigga placed a soft hand on my own.

"Dear, I feel as though it would only be right to inform you that I know what you are thinking right now." My skin grew a clammy pale at the realization that Loki's adoptive mother could read minds and knew that I had a growing yet unwanted crush on her son. I felt my head fall to my hands on the table with embarrassment as she gave my arm a caring pat. "It is really that terrible to have feelings for my son? I understand the pain he had inflicted upon your world, but you know better than anyone other than me that he is not a bad person." 

"No, no. It's not that bad. I didn't mean to offend you, my queen. It's just, if my family back home found out that I was harboring feelings for the God that caused ruin to my city, I wouldn't be welcomed back so quickly." Frigga gave an understanding nod, though I wasn't entirely sure she got what my predicament was, before allowing the air around use to fall silent once more. The only thing that could be heard was the rippling of the water and the light shaking of the trees as the wind flew through the branches. My fingers danced with each other on the table as I watched them with my mind continuing to run wild with the conversation that just happened. "I appreciate you being so kind to me. I know you don't need to because I am not Asgardian and I am someone who was set out to harm your son at one point, even if I didn't. But I really appreciate you being so welcoming."

I looked up to find the kind woman giving me a genuine smile before standing from her spot across from me. She moved around the picnic table to take my hands and lightly pull me from my sitting position and embrace me in a hug. 

"Anyone who gets along with my Loki and resists from harming him is nothing short of our Valkryie in my book. I thank you for coming here and talking with him." The fact that the Queen of Asgard had told me that I was similar to the famed Valkryie just for starting to get along with Loki was something that warmed my heart and caused a smile to spread across my face.


End file.
